College Football Battle Lines

How much territory does your team control? This map started floating around the internet a couple of days ago:

(click to enlarge)

After looking it over, a few things stand out:

— Missouri, Nebraska, Wyoming, Wisconsin and Minnesota are the only states that primarily root for one team. Having only one team to root for is tough but for Montana, the Dakotas, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, Delaware and Alaska even one FBS school would be an upgrade.

— At first glance it’s surprising that Air Force controls two-thirds of the state of Colorado. When you consider the Buffaloes’ and Rams’ recent decline it becomes less so.

— Kansas State paints nearly three-quarters of the state of Kansas purple. I’d love to see what this map looks like in late March.

— Texas, Ohio, and Florida are the three most divided states on the map. They also have some of the most loyal fans in the country.

One Response to College Football Battle Lines

You forgot Arkansas. No one else in the entire state roots for anyone else. Even in Jonesboro, where Arkansas State is, more people pull for the Razorbacks than for ASU. You walk around Jonesboro and you’ll see dozens and dozens of Razorback hats and T-shirts and stickers. If Arkansas had any competition in the state it would be ASU, but even in Jonesboro people are more likely to watch the Razorbacks on TV than worry about ASU. In recruiting, ASU will never, ever get a recruit that Arkansas wants. Take this year. Arkansas got four of the top five players in the state (they still hope they can flip Tenpenny, who is committed right now to Alabama). None of them even remotely considered any Arkansas school. Arkansas is the very definition of a one-school state.